


Upon The Fields Of Barley

by monkiainen



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Community: hp_drizzle, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-09-01 17:57:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20262178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monkiainen/pseuds/monkiainen
Summary: It's Padma's turn this year.





	Upon The Fields Of Barley

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt: ** # 14 _Every cold winter solstice night, a sacrifice is made in the Forbidden Forest. This year, it's her/his turn to make it._  
**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.

This was it.

The night she had been waiting for as long as she could remember. Finally it was her time to partake in the ancient rituals, even if her parents hadn't wanted her to do so.

But Padma knew what she wanted and it was this – to honour Ganesha, to celebrate the winter solstice, to make a sacrifice. It was as if she was compelled to do so, after the year they've had. Dark Lord had been defeated, yes, but with what price? So many innocent lives lost, so many of her friends gone forever. 

Traditionally she should have honoured Ganesha for five straight days, but it was not the way it was done here, in Hogwarts. The person chosen for the sacrifice had only one night to complete the ancient rituals, but they were free to mix their own religious beliefs and traditions to the rituals to make it more powerful, more meaningful.

With those thoughts in mind, Padma had chosen to wear a multi-coloured sari to represent the five days dedicated for Ganesha: yellow for family members, blue for close friends, red for the world, green for the culture and orange for Ganesha's Grace. She hoped she would succeed in the sacrifice – she could not, would not fail.

It was nearing midnight, and Padma knew it was time to get started. What had once been a barley field was now a mystical place dedicated to one purpose only: the sacrificial ritual of the winter solstice. Standing in front of the shrine made only for this purpose Padma shivered, but not from cold – the magic in the clearing was older than Hogwarts itself, packed into the shrine and the surrounding area after countless of times the ritual had been completed. Feeling the old magic gave Padma more confidence – she could do this, she was so sure of it.

It was time.

The first request for Ganesha – to remove all the obstacles:

_Om gum ganapatayei namah._

The second; to the Lord of letters and learnings:

_Om a ra pa ca na dhih_.

The third; to the new beginnings, to the peace:

_Sarveshaam Svaastir Bhavatu_  
Sarveshaam Svaastir Bhavatu  
Saveshaam Poornam Bhavatu  
Sarveshaam Mangalam Bhavatu  
Om Shanti  
Shanti Shanteeh 

A powerful surge of magic filled the shrine and the area surrounding it. Padma found herself unable to move, but for some reason it didn't terrify her as much as it should. Somehow she knew it was supposed to happen like that. But was it enough? Would she be given the grace of Ganesha, would her sacrifice be enough? Or had she failed her one and only task for the night?

A form, a thought, an idea was forming in front of the shrine. It was growing bigger and bigger, surrounded by such a bright light Padma was unable to see any details. It was something resembling a man, but not quite. The form stopped growing and the light diminished some – it was a large man with an elephant head.

_Ganesha…_

So it was true, then. The form of an ancient god had appeared in front of Padma, in a night when everything was possible – but with a price. Padma knew in order for the ritual to be complete she had to sacrifice something. It was not clear what it was, as everyone who had done the ritual were forbidden to reveal any details of what they had sacrificed. It depended on the person, and what deity they were answering to. The rumour was that once young Tom Riddle had been the one to complete the ritual, and he had prayed for Hel's blessing.

What a terrible thought indeed.

_WHAT ARE YOU SEEKING, DAUGHTER OF ADITI?_

The words are not really spoken aloud – it's more like the entity before her is transferring its words straight to her mind. Padma thinks carefully what she wants to say, what she really wants from the elephant god, and finally decides for one thing she feels is the most important:

"I am seeking for forgiveness."

Ganesha is silent, pondering. Padma silently wishes she didn’t ask for too much, for forgiveness is something everyone who took part in the second war is looking for. Whether it's forgiveness for those they had wronged, or from those they didn't protect, or from those that were left behind, it is something the wizarding world desperately needs.

_I SEE._

Padma is holding her breath, waiting for the answer.

_WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO SACRIFICE TO GET WHAT YOU NEED, PADMA YAMINI PATIL?_

This time Padma doesn't have to think about her answer.

"Myself."

The silence around her changes – not much, but there is definitely something different in the charged air around Padma and the clearing. Padma closes her eyes, waiting for the inevitable; if her giving up her life so that the others could live more freely is what's needed, then she will do it gladly. For Parvati, for their parents, for all her friends. Padma has never been so sure about anything in her life.

_I WILL ACCEPT YOUR SACRIFICE. WITH ONE CONDITION._

Condition? No one… there's no record that there would be conditions to receive the blessing one was asking during the winter solstice. If you did everything like before, and spoke from your heart, the sacrifice was accepted and the blessing was given. But this? Had she failed? The most important thing in her life?

_YOU MUST LIVE YOUR LIFE THE FULLEST, DAUGHTER OF ADITI. LIVE OLD, LEARN EVERYTHING YOU CAN, BE HAPPY. THEN, AND ONLY THEN, I SHALL ACCEPT YOUR SACRIFICE. YOU WILL KNOW WHEN THE TIME COMES. YOU SHALL RECEIVE YOUR BLESSINGS, FOR YOU ARE OF A PURE HEART AND OLD KNOWLEDGE. UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, PADMA._

The elephant god slowly vanished from the sight, leaving Padma alone in the clearing. For a moment she couldn't believe what had just happened. She had… she had seen Ganesha, felt his presence, and talked to him. And… Padma felt like everything she had done or had not done during the war had been forgiven.

The ritual had been completed.

Padma started her journey back to the castle, feeling happier than she had felt in a long time. It was going to be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> This story/art is part of an anonymous fest: drizzle 2019. Reveals will be in mid-october. Please do not repost anywhere else without explicit permission from the original creator.


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